Hard as it is to believe but Errol Linton has been playing the Brixton blues for near thirty years. Initially a busker on London streets and metro, Errol was noticed early on by John Walters – John Peel’s celebrated producer – who would film Errol in 1990 for a BBC documentary (its on Youtube). But even during that era of mega-CD sales no record label dared take a chance on the Lambeth youth who sounded like no one else. Still, those listening to contemporary blues paid attention: I first encountered Errol at The Station Tavern in Ladbroke Grove in 1996. He was leading a ragged ensemble of musicians and, with nonchalant ease, they tore the roof off what was then London’s foremost blues pub. No one from that evening’s performance remains in Linton’s current band – truth be told, they weren’t of the calibre of today’s lineup – but in that packed, smokey pub I witnessed the future of British blues.
